Niigata, Japan, 2026-01-08 -  KATATA YOSHIHITO DESIGN (L/O), led by Japanese creative director Yoshihito Katata, has won a Dezeen Award 2025 for Tojiro Knife Gallery Osaka. The project was selected from over 4,300 entries submitted from more than 80 countries, and was recognised for its clarity of concept, craftsmanship-driven approach, and cultural depth.

Located in Osaka’s historic kitchenware district, Tojiro Knife Gallery Osaka reinterprets Japanese cutlery culture through a contemporary spatial language. The space combines a knife retail area with an open maintenance room, allowing visitors to observe sharpening and repair processes carried out by skilled craftsmen. This transparency reflects a Japanese culture of valuing tools, longevity, and sustainable use.

The project places particular emphasis on integrating production and retail. The maintenance room is equipped with the same machines and tools used at Tojiro’s main factory in Tsubame-Sanjo, enabling everything from daily maintenance to complex repairs. By making these processes visible, the project communicates the brand’s philosophy of long-term use and care.

A key architectural feature is the reinterpretation of yoroi-bari, a traditional Japanese construction technique, as a knife display system. Knives appear to float on wooden panels, secured by concealed magnets and precise structural detailing that balances safety, functionality, and visual tension. The warm wooden interior contrasts with an armour-like stainless-steel facade, creating a continuous design language that clearly articulates the different functions of the space.

Rather than treating space as an end in itself, the design process began by identifying what the project needed to communicate. From this starting point, spatial structure, materiality, and user experience were developed in reverse. The result is a retail environment in which tradition and industry are structurally integrated, offering a contemporary expression of Japanese craftsmanship.